January 25, 2015 - As the popularity of
e-cigarettes increases, the FAA wants airlines
to ensure passengers don’t put their
e-cigarettes in checked baggage, when they can
pose a fire hazard in the cargo compartment.

The FAA on Friday released a Safety Alert for
Operators (SAFO) making
U.S.
air carriers aware of a recent bulletin from the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
that described several incidents associated with
e-cigarettes, as well as ICAO’s recommendation
to ban the devices in checked baggage.

ICAO is the arm of the United Nations that
develops and disseminates suggested standards
for the international aviation community.

In several incidents both inside and outside the
transportation industry, e-cigarettes have
overheated or caught fire when the heating
element was accidentally activated. Last August,
an e-cigarette in checked baggage stowed in an
airliner’s cargo hold caused a fire that forced
an evacuation of the aircraft.
On January 4, 2015, at Los Angeles International
Airport, a checked bag that had missed its
flight was found to be on fire in a baggage
area.

The danger may be
increased when users modify and rebuild their
reusable e-cigarette devices and interchange
original and aftermarket batteries, heating
elements, and vaporizing components.
The FAA SAFO
recommends that operators follow the ICAO
bulletin and require passengers to carry
e-cigarettes and related devices solely in the
aircraft cabin, where overheating or fire can be
observed and handled more quickly.

The agency encourages airlines to communicate
this new policy to passengers as widely as
possible through their websites, press releases,
at ticket purchase, during the check-in process
and by other established means to inform
passengers about hazardous materials regulations
and policies.